As Time Goes On
by PorcelainDeath
Summary: A young brothel worker struggles between survival & her strong morals in late Victorian London, this same girl with her odd behavior strikes a curious cord within a peculiar Shinigami. What is to become of both when murders arise in the streets? When all those she loves parishes, yet time continues to move her forward? When 1800s turn to 2000s & a new Death Note appears?


**ATHORS IMPORTANT NOTE: So this story is just a whim I came up with oh about a day or so ago ha. Needless to say, I was forced by a friend to follow through with it. Now the important notice for all of you guys is this: THIS STORY WILL NOT FOLLOW ALONG WITH HOW DEATH NOTE GOES!**

 **You lot will understand as you follow along with it. Also yes I am playing with the idea of Jack the Ripper time line as some will notice, now that being said I am using names of some victims for time line and drama sorts, and while doing so I mean absolutely NO disrespect to the deceased or their family.**

 **These are poor representations if they are that at all. I own no Death Note main plots or characters, all that I own is this stupid fanfiction idea and Ettie and Zun. With that said, please enjoy.**

…

The world has changed so drastically over just a simple century or so; planes adorn the once untouchable godly skies, satellites orbit the now known circular earth, and this magic science known as technology is an everyday portion of each human's hourly lives. What once was simplistic yet difficult lifestyles now are that of intricate high quality mandates of society; no electricity? out of the question, no running water, how do you expect to survive? Honestly, it is as though humanity had forgotten its roots though…toilets do make using the facilities much more luxurious than that of a chamber pot…How the ways of life has changed and yet, how it has not…

…

 **Whitechapel London, Late July of 1888:**

"Girl your customers are callin' and ye be puttin' length in your slack. Come now! Ye won't be gaining your stay with slack jawed work."

A tall skin and bones sort of young woman moved to the words of her elder, no longer looking up at the stars in the night sky, visible in the dreggy alleyway's limited view, but at her near spotless boss. Boss, overseer, owner…no none of those terms work properly in the lives of those working within the brothel, each has a debt to pay off, no prosperity for themselves and each debt not that of their own. She herself was here for her father's gambling issues, her Mistress standing lax before her had been in service for more than two decades, and properly so was tight lipped as to her origins. 'This is life now, no need to speak of what cannot be unchanged' Mistress would claim, though in not so clean words; morals were of course the first to go in this district.

Dusting off her soot covered frock the young red head made a small nod of her head in reply to the previous words. "Yes, Miss Catherine." Her words were somber, harsh and weak, just two months within this area and the sanitary ways were already taking their tolls on the frail ginger.

Mistress Catherine made an overly show of an exasperated sigh, clicking her heels as she descended the steps to join her young ward in the alley. "Ye know…" her left index finger tapped upon one of her gaudy rings, opening the facet to sniff a 'pick-me-up' before continuing her words. "Ye are gettin' mighty thin Ettie, ye've been here little more than a shitty season and yet ye've gotten no callers. Most me girls get the way ye be near after gettin' a quota of half a dozen wrinkles per night. Ye don' cough nor show the rash so ye don' got a plaque, ye refuse me powder and yet here ye stand."

The words were anything but questioning, it was Mistress Catherine's way of lecturing her girls in the art of survival. Once a girl can breathe in the tightest of corsets, she was a dead waste of breath and heels.

Ettie lowered her head in knowing defeat and tightened her near emotionless frown. "I'll work harder Miss Catherine."

"Ye say that near every damn week child." Mistress Catherine let out another of her common sighs, "Girl, ye will make an early grave out of me I bloody well swear." She stood before her ward and began fixing the mess of a state the young ginger was in, lifting the girl's head up to a more prideful stance. "At least fake it girl, ye know that be our first rule 'round this corner. Ye have all your teeth an they be such an unseen porcelain, so show 'em. Most our gents fancy the foreign red as well, so flip it 'round while ye put on a good show, hell all ye got to do is serve the lager for now so enjoy the good while it goes." Mistress Catherine was a wonder of a woman indeed, within the two minutes of her chattering out a more than common lecture she had managed to remove the soot from Ettie's frock and hair, loosened the strands and teased it in a noticeably disarrayed yet attractive manner, and forced what little assets the ginger had out of her blouse and above her corset in the proper provocative way. "What I would give for a ging' with tits."

Ettie could not hold back her grin and near silent chuckle at her Mistress' words, all of the girls knew their elder had a fetish for gingers with large breasts and each mention from the woman caused a small yet true laugh shine through for the poor souls. "No worries Miss Catherine, I be sure you'll get your girl one day."

Mistress Catherine's dark brown eyes met Ettie's lighter auburn hues, seeing the small smile in her ward. "Yes well, I be takin' that as a promise that ye will work on grown out yours, otherwise it'll be on me death bed I'll meet such a beaut. An' what have I told ye girl? It's Missy, not Miss an the name be Kate, none of us here go by the proper ye of all should know that, Henrietta. I ain't an old woman and I refuse to hear such words. Once more outa ye and it'll be the lashin's on that fair ass of yours."

Ettie chuckled and yet straightened her posture before following her Mistress Catherine "Kate", back within the bottom floor tavern to continue their nightly work.

…

The mist of July quickly transferred to the fog of August and with it came a case of the coughs for Ettie, clearing her of her work and to that of mandatory bed rest while her fellow girls paraded the bottom two floors and echoed the thin woodworks with fake laughs and moans. How Ettie was to get proper rest in such a place she still never would understand however, thanks to the cough this night would become one she would remember for the rest of her life, changing her sight forever.

The red head sat in the window sill in her nightgown and shawl watching the patrons entering and leaving the tavern entrance bellow, and enjoying Long Liz's show to gather more customers from the stoop's top. She was one of the older girls that occasionally worked in the brothel however, she was also part of more than one red light industry living on her own and engrossed in the crime scene. How she had gotten her nick name was not a secret to those over hearing her work from night to night, though more chaste minded individuals believed her long face to be the cause. No matter what story one preferred to be the cause all agreed that she was a show stopper, even in her forth decade her long smooth dancer legs shined up to the third floor, and a gleam in her eyes enticed all that befell her fluttering glance, she was a character in her own right for sure and Ettie found herself contemplating on how she would never compare to Liz's beautiful flamboyant ways.

Before the cough, Ettie had taken her last lecture from 'Missy Kate' more to heart than she had in the past, training herself to blend into the scene, flashing her porcelain teeth, pushing up her breasts, (and to Missy Kate's delight, devouring all foods that lore said to help with her endowment) learning to bat her eyelashes and properly playing with her ginger hair. Despite all the effort she had received only one caller and before the man could come and pay for his night she caught the cough, leading Missy Kate and the girls to halfheartedly joke that Ettie was a cursed working gall, all while talk got out that 'Poor Missy Kate got herself a sickly girl.' The tavern's reputation due to Ettie was going down however, there was to be a fair soon and travelers of all sorts were to arrive, causing apprehension at a new outlook to be forged.

Ettie forced her tired mind to quit its wanderings and released the painful tickling cough she had been holding down. After her spout she was pleased to find that no blood had appeared on her kerchief, the cough may be painful however, no signs of any plaque meaning it to be nothing more than a simple cold. With her throat lightened she leaned her ginger head back against the window's wooden frame, moving her gaze to the stars as her fingers went back to her methodic chore of mending bodices and lace, thankful of her skilled hands' ability to allow her to multitask.

"The stars are bright through the fog this night…"

"That they are."

A coughing fit claimed Ettie in her startled state as she turned to gaze to the disheveled girl standing in the not too far off doorway. "Marie…ye…ye startled me."

The tall blonde chuckled sadly as she fixed her shawl to cover her near bare chest. "Yes, well twas just finishin' me rounds an' Missy Kate sent me up to check n see how our favorite ging be doin'."

Ettie calmed her coughs enough to respond to her companion with a false grin and a lie of words, "I'm quite right Marie."

The blonde rolled her eyes and padded her bare feet towards the frail red head in the window sill. "It seems ye learned how to lie easily enough."

Ettie's small grin faded into her pale complexion, her eyes clouding over with the sickness she horridly attempted at masking, looking over her friend and sighting the bruises she had failed to cover. "Rough night?"

Marie sighed and began to play with the fringe hanging from her tattered shawl. "No different from most."

"Missy Kate won't be too keen."

The blonde's eyes and tone of voice turned stern as she glared at Ettie, "She best not find out, we be too low on patrons an we can be no picky when it comes to the banking."

The red head nodded in silent understanding, her concern for her fellow girls growing.

"Anyways, package 'rived for ye earlier, no sender but parcel be parcel."

Marie shifted her weight on her feet as she pulled a decent sized wrapping from under her corset and into Ettie's pale and shaking hands. In the back of both girls' minds they hoped for news of any kind from her family, each girl secretly hoped for the letter and money needed out of their way of life, though at each chance it became folly thoughts, this moment was no different. Ettie pealed the less than pristine paper from its bindings, reveling no note but that of a plain black bounded notary, and with a skim of the ivory pages Ettie found no words or symbols of any kind, causing both girls to release nearly audible sighs of defeat. "No sender ye said?"

"Not a one, jus' 'rived on the stoop near Liz with note on top sayin' it was for the ginger upstairs."

"Bit peculiar don't ye think?"

Marie shrugged her shawled shoulders and turned on her heels as she began her way out of the room. "Eh, may be but a gifts a gift. Use it to do them sketches or teach us how to write later, I got me more callers, night is young after all." With those words, Ettie found herself alone, marveling at the strange gift she found herself handling.

Who would send such an obscure gift? "They could have at least sent a quill an' ink with it…what good is a notary in this wretched sort of life, anyway…" Ettie's frown grew as she tossed the note book onto her sorry excuse of a bed and forced her attention to be keen on her sewing once more. No amount of star gazing or pondering would cure her sorrows tonight, but mindless repetitively may quell the disheartening thoughts.

Hours trickled by and the noise from bellow grew, Ettie had succeeded in her task of mending the dozen or so outfits, and she now found herself having another bought of the coughs despite her best efforts to prop herself as upright as possible. Her kerchief was soaked along with her eyes as she cried through the pain and were it not for the fit she found herself in she surely would have screamed in pure fright as a ghostly claw awkwardly patted at her back. Ettie jumped from her spot on her mattress and promptly fell to the hard wood floorboards her kerchief pressed firmly to her open lips and tear filled eyes wide. Before her eyes a creature of the most unholy slouched, scratching at what she could only assume was its head.

The unholy creature was a sight that ensued Ettie to think herself mad; it was such an unearthly tall being, slouching to not hit the ceiling with its pointed head, what she could only assume were its eyes were wide and hollowed out inches beneath its beetle and worm covered skin to show only orbs of the purest white, and its rib cage was clearly visible showing not the hint of a stomach but that only of its spine connected to its robe covered hips.

To Ettie's horror the creature opened its toothless mouth and began to speak in a level only slightly above that of a whisper thought remaining deep in tone, "Erm…well Hello…I did not intend to cause you to…jump…my apologies."

 _'It…its apologizing to me?'_ Ettie's fit managed to quell, though her eyes remained wide and her shaking form stayed frozen in its sprawled out position on the floor. "Demon…Demons don't apologize."

The creature tilted its head to its side as if in a quizzical manner at her words. "I do not know what a…Demon is…could you explain?"

Ettie froze in complete and total bafflement, moments trickled by in silence as the creature continued to fidget, its clawed hands and feet fumbling upon each other.

"Are…are you alright?"

The red head found herself able to move finally, pulling her legs up to her chest and an arm tightly wound around her knees while the other pinched at her forehead. _'I am awake…yet…what is this…cough turned to madness? No…I don't even have a fever.'_ Satisfied that she was not hallucinating or unconscious in any form, Ettie held herself tightly while fumbling with the words to speak. "A…A demon is a creature of hell, sent…sent to corrupt God's children."

The creature's head tilted to the opposite side, contemplating the information before speaking. "Demon's and this God fellow…does not exist…"

"Like bloody hell they don't! You're…You're a demon! A creature of lies!"

"Incorrect…I am Zun…I am a Shinigami…I am no demon."

"Chen…Chenegemie?"

The creature calling himself Zun scratched at his head as he squatted down, his long elbows propped against his boney knees, while his tattered robe over his lower half billowed slightly in the movement. "No…Shi-ni-gam-i…I think the Asian's translate…as god of death…reaper…something grotesque in meaning…"

"Grotesque…haven't ye looked at yourself?"

Zun made a show of looking from his clawed feet to his shoulders and an odd look as if he was straining to see his own face in a folioed attempt. "I see no…grotesque attributes…you humans…you are strange…to my eyes anyways…"

Ettie found herself shocked into silence once more, though a small fit of coughs brought her back to reality. "Have…Have I gone mad?"

Zun now turned to scratching at his point of a chin, his head only slightly tilted to its side compared to how he had had it in the beginning of their conversation. "Why…would you be angry…?"

"No…Mad as in mad as a hatter."

Zun simply stared at the red head in continuing confusion, while Ettie's irritation began to flair.

"Mad, loony, insane!"

"Oooooh…no…No you are not insane…unless you were insane before?"

"No I wasn't!"

Zun's large toothless mouth spread across his insect covered face. "That…is good then…to not be insane that is…"

Ettie did not even notice as her posture lightened in the slightest, a final cough releasing from her throat. "Yeah...it is…Why're ye here? What's the meanin' behind this?"

Zun's smile left his odd insect meshed face as he started to answer the red head's questions. "Ah…Yes well…" with a final scratch upon the top of his head, he used his abnormally long left arm to point at Ettie's mattress and with ease lift the far away notary from its untouched position. "You now own my notebook…so I must follow you…"

"Notebook? Fol…Follow?"

"Yes…I will not lie…I grew tired of the Shinigami realm…No one up there is…interesting…So I sent my notebook…for you…Now it belongs to you…" Zun removed his gaze from Ettie and began to flip through pages of the notebook with the tips of his long fingers, which Ettie now realized, he had eight on each clawed hand. "Ah…I should have wrote the rules out…that may be why…you have not used it…"

"Rules? How could there be rules for a bloody 'notebook'?"

Zun ignored Ettie as he used one of his sixteen clawed fingers as if it were a quill, scrawling upon a page or more of the notebook. "This is an object from the Shinigami realm…all things…and beings…from there must abide rules…"

"What 'bout yourself?"

"That is…what I meant by 'beings'…"

Ettie glowered at Zun, pulling at her nightgown's hem towards her ankle in attempts to mull over her growing frustration. "Ye be an arrogant…Shinigami…"

"So I've been told…There…" At those words Zun lifted his head and returned to gazing at Ettie with his wide and hollowed out porcelain eyes, his long arm reaching towards her the notebook in his hand.

She was hesitant, after all what if this creature were to make a grab at her and try to devour her? However, her curiosity had always gotten the better of her, and so Ettie slow and shakily reached out and grasped the notebook from Zun's loose grip. Ettie refused to move her knees from her chest and held the notebook out so she could peer at what the Shinigami had wrote on the first few pages, causing her body to shake once more in fear. "Any…Any human whose name is written within this notebook shall die…What…What sort of black magic is this?"

"No magic…just the tool of all…Shinigami that is…" Zun had returned to scratching at various parts of his head, as though the meshed insects caused him irritation, he seemed to not be phased by her words and her fear in the least. "Continue reading…"

"No!" Ettie all but threw the notebook across the room in disgust, while Zun caught it swiftly and easily within a few of his claws. "Such…monstrous…no! No one should take anyone's life!"

Zun grinned once more at the red head as he neatly placed the notebook on the floorboards between them both. "Yes…I hoped your reaction would be…similar to this…"

"Ye wanted me to have common morals?!"

Zun's grin grew. "From what…I have witnessed…and know of this world and your role…'Morals' as you say…do not exist…yet…you hold strongly to rules of your own…much like we Shinigami…"

"I…I be nothin' like ye!"

The Shinigami's grin fell into a deeply set frown, and if Ettie was not mistaken she could have sworn that he seemed to be sad upon hearing her words. "Well…in any case…I will tell you of the rules…of everything…but first…please explain to me this…" He stared at her, as he squirmed himself into a more slouched position holding his knees to himself as if to try and mimic Ettie's own position. "Why did you…give that child your food…three days past?"

Ettie's shakes settled from hearing such an innocent yet knowledgeable question, she had been sure that no one had been watching when she had handed over her bowl, though this was an otherworldly creature, perhaps he had seen from where ever his realm was located. "I…The bloke seemed hungry…that's all…" Her eyes shifted from one end of the room to another, her fingers twitching against her legs.

"But you…you were and are hungry as well…and your food seems to be…hard to come by…in this part of your world…"

Ettie sighed in defeat, "Food is hard for us…but the little one…he was but skin and bones. I be a grown woman of twenty, I can fend better than he…"

Zun's grin returned, though this time smaller than normal. "This…this is why I chose you…you are strange for your kind…I am curious…"


End file.
